#BLM Art and Former Statues

The thing that got me interested in the Monkees, even as a young kid, was the idea of history. All these references to things I had yet to learn. And then as I learned, I saw the pattern that every generation tries to remake or destroy the generation prior to theirs. The 60's were the template, the ultimate idea of the teenagers who don't trust anyone over 30 (knowing full well that people age). America was formed in rebellion.  Every day now seems like history, with pandemic numbers at absurd highs across America (We have 1/4 of the world's deaths, with only 4% of its population).  Where I live, MA, today was the FIRST day of no deaths from Covid since March. And yet, the police violence hasn't stopped, which is why the protests haven't stopped.  And why people are taking to the streets, seizing whatever power they can.  Social Media turned onto the real world.

Not only have there been gorgeous murals going up around the world in support of Black Lives Matter, but they are also painting the streets themselves. Black Lives Matter in huge letters, visible from space, or at least from small aircraft.

And the statues, ALL the statues seem to be coming down, all the ones which lack compassion.  And even the ones of old men, who might be on the good side of history.  In these days, it is better to rethink everything.  Even those who fought, did they not fight hard enough?  Did they do everything and we are still stuck in this world? Would their ghosts be fighting for change, along with the protesters? 

I imagine the ghosts on the better, more equitable side of history, cheering on the living.  All the energy (both living and dead) are contributing to the new world.  And even the ghosts with regretful pasts, are changing their minds.  Even they can change their minds, even they can fix things for the better from the grave.  

All the souls in the world want mercy for the future.

Even in Portugal,there is a sense of reckoning.  The idea that "Portugal is not a racist country" has been brought up again-how can the country which started the slave trade and commissioned histories to define the hierarchy of races- Prince Henry the Navigator has lots of statues-but we must now understand who he really is.

https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2020/06/06/black-lives-matter-movement-to-hold-more-rallies-across-portugal/

https://lithub.com/ibram-x-kendi-how-racism-relies-on-arbitrary-hierarchies/

Protests: Then and Now

I was going to write a post about what a bummer it is to have the Mike and Micky Show postponed due to Covid (although we want them and us to stay safe). Or mention how sad it is that MeTV has taken the Monkees out of rotation, in favor of more Andy Griffith and Love Boat. Just taken them off their broadcast slot on Sundays at 5 and 5:30.  One never knows who might accidentally discover or rediscover the show; people still click through channels on TV.

Replacing a slightly subversive TV show with absolute pablum and the glory days of the 1950s-the kind that never existed-this would have been enough.  But America is going through especially dark days.

As a tag-interview sequence to one of the Monkee shows, the Boys discussed the Sunset Strip "riots", about teenagers having a curfew-a bus was turned over and caught on fire. Daily Nightly and For What It's Worth are 2 songs that came out of that night. And then there were Vietnam protests. The camaraderie of Woodstock (and drugs and music) helped the white youngsters feel like they had the power to change the world. And in some ways they did. 

Before that (and in parallel) were the lunch counter protests, Martin Luther King Jr.'s marches, and even Malcolm X and the Detroit Riots.  Looking back- these 2 movements were so racially divided. The white teenagers in those years understood that things were getting bad and reacted in large groups-African Americans chose their tactics carefully.  And the police turned dogs and firehoses and (insert cruelty here) on the African Americans.

This past week, there was yet another African American killed at the hands of police. Someone else had been murdered while jogging, A white woman called the police because she had her dog off leash and was upset to be called out on it by an African American birdwatcher. There have been peaceful protests because America is having a moment right now, it is insane and this is our reality and it is impossible to take.  Protests have turned ugly, infiltrated by angry white groups-who are eager to incite violence, to light fires, to get the police to respond with violence.  

The country is leaning into an ugly part of itself.  It is hard enough for us to survive a pandemic, but this brutality visited on African Americans directly by the police is impossible to take.  And so many were outraged when the protest was simply taking a knee. Better for a football player to kneel in respect than a policeman on the neck of the country. 

Love is understanding. Violence is the opposite of that; sometimes love is not enough. Let's hope this revolution turns into a deeper understanding and a better America. Where we can love one another and treat each other with respect, equally. All of us. A more perfect union indeed.

Monkee News Amid Covid-19

The Mike and Micky Show has been recorded and released. Reviews are in and it is an amazing recording mix, capturing the best of the live performances. That's the good news.

Middling news includes the scheduling of upcoming shows.  Originally scheduled for April of 2020, they were rescheduled to later in the year, July/Oct, etc. But we will see.  As of now, the end of April, there is talk of "reopening" the economy after 45ish days of Stay-At-Home orders differing from state to state. But reports from places that have opened up again indicate that infection rates have gone up as more people begin interacting again.  So when will we begin feeling comfortable hanging out in crowds again?

And the bad news, we've just hit and surpassed the number of deaths that we saw from the war in Vietnam.  So many people have been hurt by the sickness and the death toll: friends, families.  And Adam Schlesinger passed away from Covid on April 1st.  This whole thing has been a horrible joke, not limited to April Fool's, and it is not funny.  And it does not seem to be ending any time soon.  That's the worst news of all.

Adam Schlesinger has Corona

Adam Schlesinger is on a ventilator with the coronavirus.

He produced the past two Monkee albums (Good Times/Christmas), and has had excellent taste throughout his career.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-03-31/adam-schlesinger-coronavirus-covid

Personally, I know LOTS of people who are sick nowadays, know of a few people who have died-and someone I was directly friends with.  Lots of my friends who are sick are trying to journal about their symptoms, if they can.  Only rich and famous people can get tested. Everyone is hiding in their houses. Everything is surreal-beyond all the sci-fi stories. Things are weird.

I don't know about you, but this is the best time EVER to escape into old TV shows and Netflix.  Health and happiness to everyone reading this. Especially to everyone in the Monkee family & fandom. Love is everything!

Heavy Monkee Month: Remembrances

February has turned into a salute month.  There was a Monkee Fan Gathering to celebrate Peter's life in Connecticut. James Lee Stanley was there, as well as lots of fans and vendors. The spirit is still alive. Beyond the show, beyond the music, there is still something that brings people together over this band name, this brand, this emotion that is associated with the Monkees.

And there are a slew of Peter passed on Feb 21, 2019 and Davy died on February 29, 2012.  Samantha Juste (Micky's 1st wife) died February 5, 2014 and Phyllis Barbour Nesmith (Mike's first wife) also died in February (2010). Naked Persimmon did a nice salute-giving everyone a week of posts on their Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Since February is generally a cold and grey month, it is highly fitting to take this month to celebrate the good people who have passed on, There is plenty to be sad about in this world (including divisive and destructive politics, coronavirus, and the fall of the stock market-and that's just this week!) It seems like a rare psychological treat to have a way to emotionally remind yourself of the beauty of laughter, of time traveling back to when you thought you were in love, or safe, or wherever your subconscious mind goes when you hear or see a picture of the Monkees.

Better to have loved and lost. (Imagine all those people who NEVER had this kind of love in their lives?)

The Possibilities of Future Media

I've been working on a project about the Monkees TV Show which will someday live in VR/AR and for research-last weekend, I attended the MIT Hackathon about XR, actually called a Reality Hack.

 I crafted and scripted the narrative about Desegregation in Miami in 1957-specifically a story about Frank LeGree and how his family had picketers outside his house, threw rocks and eventually erected a cross on his front lawn-all in order to get him out of a neighborhood.

The video of the AR experience we created is here: https://youtu.be/C6w3e4wqwfk

Our team would love to do more with AR and explore this and other stories of America's growing pains further. Desegregation of schools, different neighborhoods in large cities i the 1950's. Life for a growing country and how that time period brought forth change that is still unresolved today. 

Connect that period with When They See Us-and #OscarsStillSoWhite and you will see how America still exists in black and white for so many people. The best part of the Hackathon was the idea that so many different people could come together to build a new reality. One in which the only judgments issued are on a lack of imagination.

Annual Monkee Bday Holiday

The annual Monkee holiday is a great opportunity to figure out how to clean out the old and make room for the new. I always try to play the episodes and/or the songs-to have them on in the background while I clean. Or frankly, just watch them again during the breaks.

On Facebook, people keep sharing pictures of both Mike and Davy. Mike is still in shape for touring and has been reading chapters from his books and becoming a bigger presence on social media. Mike keeps aging nicely-but this year (and probably every year), there is a growing gap between where Mike is . . . and where Davy would be.  With Peter's loss this year, there seems to be more of the past frozen in time. Mike and Micky still have potential to create new surprises for us. And somehow the Thing will never die.

I don't have much more to say. Other than, Happy New Year!

Considering the Monkees and the Beatles

Gathering my thoughts together to compare the Monkees and the Beatles, similarities, influences, and where they differed. Huge difference between Season 1 and Season 2-parallel to early Beatles and late Beatles (dividing line is Headquarters/Sgt Pepper)

Other thoughts include the following, to develop into a larger paper:

The existence of the Monkees TV Show (1966-1968) was a direct result of Beatlemania.
The concept of 4 musicians struggling to make it as a rock band for TV had been proposed
prior to the British Invasion, but not until 1965 was the series given the go-ahead and proved
to be a sure fire moneymaker. The Monkees band has been named the “PreFab Four”
and have often been unfairly dismissed as mere copycats.However, there is a lot
of evidence of respect and positive influences between the two groups. 

Lennon called them The Marx Brothers. Nesmith was invited to the recording of “Day
in the Life”, Dolenz wrote a song mentioning the “four kings of EMI”. Harrison invited
Tork to play on his Wonderwall album. The Monkees pilot literally has a character taking
a shot at a photo of the Beatles, in the final episode the Beatles’ song “Good Morning”
appeared-which was an unusual precedent for any Beatles song to be used in an
American sitcom.  Visual gags, camera shots and photos echoed the style of
Richard Lester and Hard Day’s Night. 

But the long and winding road of evolution would led each band down different paths.
The Beatles capitalized on their musical success by appearing in films as themselves.
The Monkees were created and developed as a TV Show before the music came into play.

Toronto Counterculture Conference: Me, Madison Williams and Angela Davis!

So, there is an amazing event happening in Toronto the first weekend in November.

As part of the 40th Annual Toronto International Festival of Authors, they are having a conference especially dedicated to the 1960's aspects of counterculture.

It's officially called The (re)making of a Movement: New Perspectives on the 1960's Counterculture and I'm presenting at it.  What's more, I'll be presenting a talk about Six Degrees of Monkees and the relationship map I'm creating. <insert fangirl scream of well-earned pride here>

The official description is below. I'm on after Angela Davis. She's a tough act to follow, but I hope to channel all my (nervous) energy into being inspired by her.  Additionally, my talk will be followed by Madison Williams, who will be speaking about HEAD (see below)! 

Very happy to help represent the Monkees and their importance in the counterculture movement of the 1960's!

==

Counterculture on the Radio & TV

Nov 2, 2019 | 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM | Main Loft

Tammy Rose, MBA, MS, User Experience Research Lead

Six Degrees of Monkees in a Relationship Map of CounterCulture

The Monkees phenomenon involved music & a TV show, and an unusual amount of connections that make it the center of American counterculture. Despite being dismissed as bubblegum, from 1965 to 1968, the brand encompassed a wide variety of non-commercial memes from Vietnam protest references to Frank Zappa to their most infamous masterpiece, the movie HEAD. An extensive relationship map visualizes any and all references to people, works and concepts to the Monkees. Almost anyone working in Hollywood prior to 1980 can be connected to the Monkees by a low number of degrees. Sex, drugs and rock and roll as well as cynicism were regularly snuck into America’s living rooms and fed into the minds of children.

Madison Williams, BA, University of California San Diego

Can You Dig It?: The Monkees, the Alienation Effect, and the "Epic Album" HEAD

Bertolt Brecht describes his interpretation of alienation as hindering the audience from “simply identifying itself with the characters in the play. Acceptance of rejection of their actions and utterance was meant to take place on a conscious plane, instead of, as hitherto, in the audience’s subconscious”. While alienation can be achieved through many modes, Brecht emphasizes that the “radical separation of the elements” of music, words, and production and invocation of the “strange and surprising” are necessary for the audience to be spurred to critical thought, and eventually, political action. The epic theatre techniques used to invoke these reactions have evolved and transformed over the years to be applied to countercultural art beyond stage performance. In 1968, the music group the Monkees embarked on a journey of self-destruction that culminated in the release of their film HEAD. An under-examined performance project originally deemed a failure, HEAD satirizes and critiques the Vietnam War, the Monkees’ teenybopper fans, the film, television, and music industries, and the group’s own commercialization. HEAD’s soundtrack is an album that itself utilizes Brecht’s idea that rather than being drawn into the world of a performance, audience members should be forced to think critically about the enactment of the world before them and use the drama to critique their own societies. Using a close reading (and listening) of the tracks along with archival research, I demonstrate how the HEAD soundtrack functions as a mode of alienating performance and is a key example of the interdisciplinary form “epic album”, achieved through the Monkees’ utilization of the verfremdungseffekt, or alienation effect. The Monkees and “album coordinator” Jack Nicholson utilize sound collage, didactic and gestic lyrics, and even the packaging of the album itself to create a feeling of “strangeness” in the listener. By estranging themselves and their listeners from the typical commercial pop album, the Monkees use the HEAD soundtrack as an attempt to destroy their commodified “pre-fab” image and force their audience to think critically about their identities as passive consumers of media.

The Really Amazing Thing About Ed Sullivan's February 9, 1964 Show!

Let's start by talking about the obvious reason why this show this night was important. 

Davy Jones.

He had just hit Broadway in OLIVER!, fresh from the West End.  On his opening night in America, Judy garland took him to the roof of the theater to look out at the city lights.  "This is all yours,' she said.  The night on TV was his first exposure to America, and America's first exposure to the Artful Dodger.  His song was "I'll Do Anything", which seems to set the willing tone of his attitude for the rest of his career.

Another great performer that night was the impressionist Frank Gorshin, aka The Riddler from the Batman TY series starting in 1966.  His IMDB Number is 142, so he was in a TON of other things-but not the Monkees. NOTE: he is NOT to be confused with the impressionist David Astor who played in "Monkees on the Wheel" and had a James Cagney faceoff with Dolenz.  They are definitely the same type. And poor David Astor probably got confused with the RICH David Astor-British newspaper publisher and member of the famed Astor family.

Buried in this cavalcade of stars was Toni Basil's family, she was due to be the Monkee's choreographer just a few years later.  Her family was showbiz all the way, performing most of their act on the show here. She also went on to have her own Gold record with the smash hit Mickey in the 1980's, and to choreograph the Playboy Bunny Mansion dance scene in Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood.

Oh, and there were some boys from Liverpool.

Okay, so there are SOME TV Critics who will ONLY mention this one night in Ed Sullivan's career, trying to reinforce the night that changed music as the night that changed America. Despite the fact that Sullivan had already been active in show business for 32 years. And certainly had enough cache to create a show full of exciting acts-more than just the single event he may be remembered for.

So yeah, yeah, yeah. There's that.

John Brockman's HEAD and His Network: Including Jeffrey Epstein

One piece of the Monkee spiderweb extends into the network of Modern Art culture, and a certain man named John Brockman, a self described Cultural Impresario. Also, Editor/compiler of 30 books, creator of the Edge Foundation, Literary Agent-representation including Michael Nesmith, Friend of Jeffrey Epstein & Intellectual Enabler and more. But someone like John Brockman-someone who had actively managed to grow a network during his whole career- knew the nature of what was going on, and encouraged the seedier side of things. Back in the 1960's, it was common knowledge that women were treated as objects (and worse) especially by the rich & famous-NOW at least, society is recognizing and calling it out.  Even if justice is still elusive.

But Monkee fans know him as THIS guy:

The head of HEAD, not to be confused with Headquarters. 

(He doesn't have anything to do with either, actually)

 On his own website, Edge.org, he begins to discuss his involvement with the poster as he stumbles upon himself in the hallway of the Museum of Modern Art, the description for the artwork is below:

Brockman describes his involvement:

"The original b&w poster, the basis of a national ad campaign by Columbia Pictures, had nothing to do with my own head. (But then, neither did the movie). It was based on the cropped photograph of the screen of a television set in the Columbia studios in Burbank on which the one-minute version of the silent movie trailer of my head was playing. In the mylar version, the viewer sees his or her own head reflected while looking at the silk-screened image. Same also on the record album cover I designed using mylar. The press missed the point; but the art world certainly got it."

For what it's worth, he makes note of Some of the Corpses are Amusing and includes screenshots to the page about HEAD.

Mike had even posted on Facebook about connecting his fans' responses to his Literary agent:

"I just sent it off to an agent, John Brockman, to see what he could do with it as far as getting it published. He is a long time friend, and a remarkable character (he did the ad campaign for “Head”. That is his pictures on the poster!). 

I enjoy his company and like him a lot. I know he will shoot straight with me. I also know it is hard to get things printed these days in the world of no print presses, so we shall see.

You can help by sending him an email and telling him why you think they should be printed – or why you think they should not, if that is what you think.

It’s hard to know just which summer beach books might work and which wont. If you comment here you can just cut and paste an email to John — brockman@edge.org — with “Michael Nesmith updated his status” in the subject line – that’s the name of the book — so he can get a look at some of the comments the idea of this book has received over the years."

He also made a guest appearance in the 1997 special.  (Photos courtesy: Corpses)

And he's a fascinating man -as he will tell you himself, especially if you read the copy on his website about the goals of his career and how he named Edge.org, which seems to be a combination TED Talk support group, Think Tank, LinkedIn for the One Percenters, and the world's top mover-shakers-influencers.

"To arrive at the edge of the world's knowledge, seek out the most complex and sophisticated minds, put them in a room together, and have them ask each other the questions they are asking themselves." -from the Edge.org About Page

It includes a thing called "The Billionaires Dinner" which brought together many academics (including Steven Pinker) with prominent billionaires (Ricardo Salinas $13.7 bil), and tech giants (Sergey Brin & Larry Page $4.8 bil) The photo below is from the dinner in 2013.

To quote from the article published by the New Republic,  Brockman views the network he has created as maybe his greatest achievement.

 "He is no mere literary agent; he is a true “organic intellectual” of the digital revolution, shaping trends rather than responding to them. Would the MIT Media Lab, TED Conferences, and Wired have the clout and the intellectual orientation that they have now without the extensive network cultivated by Brockman over decades? I, for one, very much doubt it.
Lately, John has been in the news for other reasons, namely because of his troubling connections to Jeffrey Epstein, the so-called financier who reportedly hanged himself earlier this month while facing federal charges of sex-trafficking. Epstein participated in the Edge Foundation’s annual questions, and attended its “billionaires’ dinners.” Brockman may also be the reason why so many prominent academics—
from Steven Pinker to Daniel Dennett—have found themselves answering awkward questions about their associations with Epstein; they are clients of Brockman’s. Marvin Minsky, the prominent MIT scientist who surfaced as one of Epstein’s island buddies? A client of Brockman’s. Joi Ito, the director of the elite research facility MIT Media Lab, who has recently acknowledged extensive ties to Epstein? Also, a client of Brockman’s.

Based on my observations over the last decade, his whole operation runs on two simple but powerful principles. First, the total value of the network (and thus his own value) goes up if the nodes start connecting to each other independently of him. Second, the more diverse the network, the more attractive it is to newcomers as well as to all the existing members. "

Which leads us to the Jeffrey Epstein connection. Again from the article:

"... it seems clear that Brockman was acting as Epstein’s PR man...
Edge Foundation’s (publicly available) financial statements suggests that, between 2001 and 2015, it has received $638,000 from Epstein’s various foundations. In many of those years, Epstein was Edge’s sole donor. Yet, how many of Edge’s contributors—let alone readers—knew Epstein played so large a role in the organization?"

There is an old article, surfacing again, called the Prince and the Perv-Prince Andrew walking in Central Park with Epstein AFTER JE had been convicted of sex crimes.

Brockman is the source of the quote that has been reprinted in several of the articles (including New Republic & from the Guardian below), where he overhears "Andy" (PRINCE Andrew-thank you very much) complaining about how he can't party after-hours:

“In Monaco,” he says, according to Brockman’s account, “[Prince] Albert works 12 hours a day but at 9pm, when he goes out, he does whatever he wants, and nobody cares. But, if I do it, I’m in big trouble.”

In the Guardian, Mariana Hyde brings up the hypocritical view of men who traffic in this kind of world-and yet hold a different standard for their own daughters and refers to Arthur Miller's All My Sons:

"They suggest the kind of man – and we’ve all met them – who has a two-tier view of the female sex. There is a world for their daughters, hopefully insulated from men like their friend Jeffrey, and then there is another world for the girls who service their friend Jeffrey.

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Yet decent, humane people know there aren’t two kinds of women and girls – there are just women and girls. I’m reminded of the climactic line in All My Sons, where the wartime profiteer Joe Keller has been finally made – by his own son’s suicide note – to see how his actions were responsible for the fate of so many other young men. “I think to him they were all my sons,” Keller reflects. “And I guess they were. I guess they were. "

What do you call the person who encourages someone like Epstein? What is the larger cost of building a network like this, that goes deeper than any of us can possibly imagine, especially among the top influencers of the world?

Thoreau/Twain in Concord, MA

And now for something completely different.  I wrote a play, NOT about the Monkees.....

I'm happy to report that the performance of Thoreau/Twain: Brothers in the River for the Thoreau Society was a tremendous success.

Brent Rinalli, Tammy Rose and Joel Hersh

The main performers were Brent Rinalli, who has been in and around Concord giving lectures and historical interpreting as Thoreau for the past few years and Joel Hersh, a local actor known for his varied musical ability-played Twain.

The main conceit of the show is that an Academic is trying to summon the spirits of the authors, to have them discuss a major, and underexplored parallel of their lives.  Both of them had a deep relationship with a brother on the river of their childhood, and both of them lost that brother to a sudden event. This happened before either of them began to write-but both found inspiration in their brothers and documented the influences strongly in their writings.

The authors -who had never met in real life- get deep into conversation, about their lives, commonalities they share-and especially their brothers. Most of the text of the play is taken directly from journals, letters and the formal published writings of the authors-and their contemporaries. They argue with each other using their own words and get a chance to recount a major emotional moment in their lives. (No pop-psychology or therapy here-the drama comes directly from their own words and existing texts).

Thanks to the Thoreau Society and to all the amazing and attentive attendees!  Especially those who took pictures and gave me feedback on new areas to explore between the two!

And extra special thanks to my fellow Tourguides who make all the research and the entire experience of Concord SO MUCH FUN!!!

The Beginning of the Beginning: Shooting of the Shows begins in 1966

When did the Monkees actually begin?

Was it when Rafelson was dreaming of turning his adventures with his 3 young friends on a sailboat into a story? (Can we sing? Sure-we can do anything!)

Was it when the ad was placed? "4 Ben Frank's types. Must come down for interview"

Was it when the pilot was being shot? Or its first test flopping with audiences? And then recut and green-lighted? (Include the audition scenes, and then we can tell who is who)

Once upon a time, on May 31, 1966 to be exact, the cast and crew gathered at a farm to begin shooting "Don't Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth". The gate was locked & the farmer was nowhere to be found. Knock it down-they said, a new fence is a couple hundred dollars but shooting costs $100,000 a day!!

And so they got to filming, and they shot more shots than any other shoot ever shot. Thus began the legend. The wheels began to turn, the camera cranked and the machinery of 2 years swung into motion.

I still don't know what the VERY first shot of the day was, or what day they shot the "Early Morning Wakeup" scene-but there is genuine sunrise in the distance as the farmer gets the confused boys up to do the chores.  The best lighting is natural lighting, the kind of dawn that money can't buy. Whatever rumors of artificial assembly were floating in the ether-were they a copy of the Boys from Liverpool, or the Boys of the Beach? They had to make it on their own. From here on in-it was up to them to make it happen.

For Bob Rafelson's memory on the Monkee's Live Almanac, go here: https://www.monkeeslivealmanac.com/blog/rafelson-on-filming-the-first-monkees-episode

Davids Bowie and Jones: How Do Fans Forge a Connection? CONTEXT

David Bowie died a few years (days?) ago, and although I personally never felt any deep personal connection to him or his music, it touched a nerve for so many of my friends that gets me thinking.

The morning after it was announced, my entire Facebook feed was literally filled with people in shock (like a close friend/mentor/rock god) had died. There were the waves of shock, yes, but then the waves of "here's how I connected with him", or "here's how his music turned me on to my current artistic taste/persona".

I saw people making connections between his style of shape-shifting to Lady Gaga's, or even to the current pop-cultural awareness of transgender people (who had been doing it long before, but now it seems o be something pop-culture seems to embrace, rather than thinking worthy of insult). NOT Madonna, who seems to be an exact parallel in terms of wanting to reinvent herself continuously, but who is now out of the spotlight and coolness, (more of a parallel to Hillary now).  Also her ascent to power seemed to be a "lust for fame".

I don't understand what it is that has NOT touched my own heart about him.  I like his SONGS, well enough, but I am not EMOTIONALLY INVESTED in his "character" or his "characters".

Which is the sign of the exact moment of my musical education being past his maturity (I first heard of him on V66, and he seemed like just another Rocker in his 40's-Bruce, Madonna, John Lennon (?), Huey Lewis, and he was starring in Labyrinth, which I never saw .  What is the connection between Elvis' and the Beatles' rise to success coinciding with the age/musical maturity of someone?  You root for them bc you get to convince your friends (be a "thought leader")

Micky and Mike and Magdelena Concerts

Micky always jokes about HEAD, and asks the audience if they know what it's about, and if they can explain it to him. It always gets a laugh.  But at the most recent set of shows done by him and Mike, there was a lovely deep dive into HEAD-which in and of itself feels like a good happy/high-low point in the whole journey. Beauty-diving in, being in over yr head, near-death, rebirth, mermaids rescuing you-feeling suspended in a very specific moment. That's the amazing experience that happens when I'm watching and listening-I get transported to my past self-but I'm very in the now.

I was lucky to catch some of the last few concerts.  Boston (Medford) and NYC (The Beacon). These were the rescheduled events from last year, postponed due to Mike's cardiac incident-and a perfect confluence of other emotional days. Peter's passing on Feb 21, the anniversary of Davy (Feb 29, 2012 for the record), and on the upside-Micky's Bday on March 8.

After all these years of attending shows, including Shoe Suede Blues, the previous reunions and incarnations, this felt like a great reunion of sorts for all of the fans-at least all of the familiar faces I saw in the audience.

And the show's set list was a love letter to the fans-alternating the big hits with more obscure yet well loved songs. I can't believe Micky seemed to miss a few lines from some Clarksville, but I was amazed at how Door Into Summer is a song about ME as a grownup business person.

I ran into Eric Lefkowitz after the show, who said he felt old. If anything, I feel rejuvenated-I feel like I had just dived into something timeless-a way to preserve & relive the memories and still be rescued by the mermaids.

Peter's GLOW

It's been about a week since Peter passed. I'm still in shock.


Most of the PT fans I know have been with him for the latter part of his career. That’s right-he HAD a later part of his career. Since the beginning of the 21st Century, he’s (he HAD-past tense), been playing in an amazing Blues band called Shoes Suede Blues.


He'd get on stage as an old man and play his music. And there would always be a moment where the music just takes off and becomes transcendent. I've NEVER seen a happier person, anywhere.

==

Watching ‘One Man Shy”-the 1st season episode where he falls in love with a rich socialite and is too shy to tell her. He steals her picture and learns how to “treat a lady” -with the lady’s help-during a (fantasy?) romp to “I’m a Believer”. The Boys help him out at the party when all he can think to discuss is the plot of Hamlet. REALLY! Honestly, a Danish prince, “and then his mother drinks the poison-and SHE dies”. The joke is not that he DOESNT know what Hamlet is, he is just too nervous to recap it well.


He was the only one who had taken any college courses; he had dropped out but later was given an honorary degree. He came from a family of teachers and moved back into his parents’ house in Storrs, CT-near UConn, where his father had been a Professor of Economics.


In the episode, after The Boys play their best roles as a stockbroker, tailor and captain of his yacht, he admits that its all a lie-but the girl gives him the Mr. Rogers Line: I like you just the way you are/for being yourself.


“Me?”


His response is that of a young actor, surprised and sweet and eager to love someone who loves him. He's a good actor, but that moment is good because he's not polished at pretending.


And then there were years of a fall from fame, the Monkees sacrificed at the altar of Raybert, in the name of Hollywood success-which they had granted (5 easy pieces/Easy Rider) but which has faded into film history.


His response is that of a young actor, surprised and sweet and eager to love someone who loves him.

He's a good actor, but that moment is good because he's not polished at pretending.


Then the 80’s-when they return AS OLD MEN-they were 40! (Saying that now, when lots of us fans have already hit our own mid-life crises, it’s too ironic) they are popular-AGAIN. And then they fade out again, periodic reunions, are they as good? Are they copies of the Beatles and why/why not?

I never understood the comparison. The Beatles never had a TV show-so they couldn’t have been as popular. (That was a joke, kid-except not). But also as a young kid who wanted the illusion of getting to know a favorite singer-the TV show offered time spent with the band. And granted, I KNEW their lines were scripted, but there were the moments in between, the improv, the fan interviews in the magazines, the reaction shots-SOME of that had to be real, right?


The Monkees TV show allowed us into their personas-which were close enough for crushes. Close enough, closer than any other music/tv personality. We felt like we KNEW them-and when they die, they take a piece of us with them.

===

He was modest in later years about his fame. He was just happy to be performing. And if anyone had felt awkward about seeing a “has been” or that copycat band or whatever-all doubts disappeared quickly as soon as the music began.


And then-EVERY SHOW-they would get to the BEST part. It was usually the second to last, when all the band members had fully warmed up, gotten into the groove, etc. There would be a round of solos, and during Tork’s solo-I swear-the heavens opened up. The music became the most beautiful thing in the world-everything and everyone was focused on every note-more present in that moment than they had been during most of their lives. And I could SWEAR, there was a glow coming from him. Not just a smile, not just the music, but a sense of complete command and focus. A person who made have been more famous, more rich, more whatever in other parts of his life-but THIS was what he was existing for. Creating music on that level and sharing it. Creating that kind of moment for others-completely selfless.

MERRILY! a Musical by George Furth (Ronnie/Henry) and Sondheim

There are a plethora of amazing supporting actors who have appeared on the Monkees TV Show, and several amazing writers.

If you don't know about George Furth, he was both.  Not only was he IN 2 episodes-the first "One Man Shy?Peter and the Debutante" was written by Treva Silverman-who went on to win an Emmy for writing for the Mary Tyler Moore Show. His performance in the episode is QUITE a showcase, and he is an evil delight to watch in every scene that he gleefully steals.
His next appearance, in the 2nd season, was "A Coffin Too Frequent"-which was otherwise notable for showcasing Ruth Buzzi (don't try too hard for a plot).  Sadly, there is no decent scene of them together-one of the MANY real missed opportunities of the series.

Besides this introduction to Monkee fans, he kept working as an actor (96 credits on IMDB!!!), including in Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid (he was no slouch!)

And despite having passed away in 2008, he is STILL WORKING! Or at least his words are! ;)

Currently, in NYC, you can see them being performed in the show Merrily We Roll Along!
https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/get-tickets/2018-2019-season/merrily-we-roll-along/

It's a story that is told backwards-an idea from the George S Kaufman/Moss Hart original.  We start with all the characters "old" and cynical. (Old being 43!) then we get scenes of how they got to be so unhappy, and finally, we end at their beginning-when they get excited about their futures.  Funny, seems to be the way a lot of people discovered the Monkees too. (Seeing them as middle aged men on MTV, talking about their glory days in the show-and the middle years being a question of unexplored scenes)

And this is sometimes known as Sondheim's big flop (when it was on Bway, it lasted 6 performances).  Don't feel too bad-their other collaboration was Company.

NPR takes the Monkee Movie HEAD on

I like to think of it as a good sign that even NPR is taking the Monkees seriously.

They posted a story a few days ago, reviewing HEAD, as if it were a REAL movie, and not just a drug fueled FU to the teenyboppers. It's not even seen as a confection created for the cult and fringe movie goers to appreciate at drug-enhanced midnight showings.

The article is written from the POV of a former "teenage fangirl", the reporter Petra Meyer takes another look at it as a grownup, to realize how it starts and ends with a suicide (of the image? of the characters? of what, exactly?) and exactly "how bitter, how cynical, how teeth-grittingly furious" it is.

The thing that struck me was that the movie, and the TV show for that matter, have seldom been properly analyzed.  And that most of the commentary was provided by people who had little to no perspective on the phenomena as a whole. Pauline Kael, the film critic of the New Yorker, famously said about the movie at the time: "The doubling up of greed and pretentious-to-depth is enough to make even a pinhead walk out"  It had a budget of $750,000 and made back $16k of that.  Sounds almost impossible now, right?

Even Micky Dolenz gets much mileage out of the challenge of interpretation.  At screenings, he turns to the audience and asks if THEY know what the movie is about. And if so, could somebody please explain it to him?  It gets a laugh everytime.

But this reporter takes it beyond just a joke.  My favorite quote:

Without particularly meaning to be, and without resorting to cliches about acid or flower power, HEAD is an almost perfect snapshot of the state of the counter-culture in 1968. Angry, questioning, willing to tear down the old niceties to make way for something more complicated, sitting uneasily in the doorway to a darker world.

You can read/hear the full article here: https://www.npr.org/2018/12/29/676852011/the-monkees-tried-to-cut-their-strings-with-head

Also note, as good a songster that Carole King is, she generally writes the music.  If anyone loves the lyrics of the Porpoise Song, you can thank Gerry Goffin.

Controversial New Xmas Album

I'm a HUGE fan of Riu Chiu.  And the Xmas Episode from the series isn't bad either.

But the idea that the Monkees would release a holiday, no-a CHRISTMAS album seems more than a little gratuitous.

And yes, I understand that the band was based on commercialism.  Everyone and their brother does a Xmas album at one point, and really-wouldn't we rather hear THEM than yet another playing of "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby (or anyone else for that matter)?? But why NOW? And if they are going to do a follow up-or SERIES (??) of follow up albums to their record breaking release "Good Times" (2016), why would this one be a holiday album. Answer: because it will be purchased whether it is good or not-and lots of the hard hitting reviewers will give it a pass bc it is in the Xmas genre.

On Facebook, there have also been discussions of the track list, especially focusing on one in particular. "Jesus Christ".  Is it offensive? Does it bring in too much of one particular religion? Why is there no corresponding song for Jewish fans? The responses don't allow room for interpretation.  "Buy it or don't".  ("Love it or leave it"). It speaks to the insensitivity of the song choice, but also of the fans who feel favored.

I can't even offer much of a review here myself. I purchased it, but can't bear to open the wrapping. There are pictures of all 4 of the Boys, but I believe that the whole album is mostly (if not entirely) Micky and Mike. But I hate holiday music completely.  Maybe by July, it'll feel less crass.

HEAD in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

If you are a modern hipster, what better way to learn your proper pop history than to hang out in Williamsburg, at the Nitehawk cinema. On a Friday night at midnight.

https://nitehawkcinema.com/williamsburg/movies/head-2/

THEIR DESCRIPTION:

"Starring: The Monkees, Victor Mature, Annette Funicello

The Monkees — Mickey Dolenz, Mike Nesmith, Davey Jones, and Peter Tork — didn’t really enjoy being labelled the pre-Fab Four. They expressed their displeasure in this non-sequitur masterpiece. This film literally has no plot; it is instead a patchwork of loopy sight gags, instant parodies, and musical numbers."

And just in case you thought this would be open to those who are not yet aware of the fabulousness of Monkeedom-Eric Lefcowitz will be there to help answer everyone's questions.  He's written Monkee Business, and much earlier-Monkees Tale (1985)!!

And then you can get some overpriced Disco Fries.

Nez and First National Band Concert in Somerville!!!

Nez and his 8 piece band performed in Somerville.  ALL the old faces were there, not just the local regulars (the Twins and the traveling fans too), but also 2 of his sons, and Circe Link.

And the Nudie hat.  For a costume, he wore white, like Mark Twain, the "Idontgiveadamn" suit.

Set list courtesy of Sheva Golkow (from the NYC show)

More pics from others on the internet with better camera skills than me:

Nez Coming to Somerville and NYC, Monkees Rescheduled

For those Monkee fans who are eager to see how Nez is doing, there are dates announced.

9/19, he'll be in Somerville, MA, the next night in NYC.  AND he'l be playing with the First National Band.  https://somervilletheatre.com/live-event/michael-nesmith/

For those of you on Facebook, Christian is already posting pics and reporting on how much fun rehearsals are.

And for the rest of us who had bought tickets for June, prior to his heart incident, the new date has been announced. Saturday, March 9th! Be there!

Quadruple Bypass Surgery!

Okay, i understand the powers that be NOT wanted to release too much info into the air. It would frighten too many in the fandom.

But thankfully, they were able to be honest with us, now that Nez is several weeks out and back to 80%.  He had quadruple bypass surgery!!!

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/monkees-michael-nesmith-recovering-from-quadruple-bypass-heart-surgery-703665/

Giving us all heart attacks in the meanwhile!

Last Few Shows Postponed!

Mike cancelled the past 4 dates of the tour, news is that all will be postponed until new dates can be determined.  He was sick, the nature of the illness was undisclosed, although reports say it wasn't serious and mostly due to exhaustion. It wasn't an easy decision, but it was made.  More info on Mike here: https://www.monkeeslivealmanac.com/blog/category/michael%20nesmith


I heard about it from a friend on Facebook. I passed the news along to another friend who wasn't on Facebook-whom I hadn't reached out to in a while.  The Monkees bring friends together.

May we all get together soon and in good health!

Study In Preparation for the Upcoming Show

One of the best ways of doing research for an upcoming performance of ANYTHING is to get into the mood.

If you are headed to see Shakespeare, try to watch a video at home, or maybe even (heaven forbid!) READ the play.  ("Twelfth Night")

If it's opera, listen to it ahead of time, I guarantee the live version will be different and there is little to no way you will"ruin" it for yourself. ("La Boheme")

The first time an audience member sees a show, it's about watching for plot.  The second time, you begin to notice character details, the third, you start catches jokes you missed the first couple times.  Only when you have seen something a million times (or 10, at least) can you really begin to dig into something. ("Monkees in a Ghost Town")

Same with performing.  You can rehearse a scene 10 times before you get it technically right. And THEN you begin to ACT and actually feel it.  When it comes to performing songs, you sing them until you forget them, and then you sing them to bring them back to yourself as discoveries. ("I'm a Believer")

As an audience member, the best thing you can do it to keep your mind and ears clean of old favorites for a long time (a year? 6 months?) Maybe not all of them, but as much as you can.  And then SIT and listen to them all again, to remind yourself of how great they can be. ("St. Matthew", "Me and Magdelena"

The great songs will be worth it.  Aren't we lucky that the entire discography/oeuvre is so rich?

The Mike and Micky Show

Welcome to the Kickoff of the 2-kees performance tour of hlaf of the Monkees, which starts officially in June.

Songs that they both like, and Peter is focused on his latest Blues album
https://petertork.bandcamp.com/album/relax-your-mind-honoring-the-music-of-lead-belly
But he has learned to "Never say never".

The article is standard boilerplate press relase:
http://www.monkees.com/article/the-monkees-present-the-mike-micky-show

Note the article screws up the most important date, when exactly it was that Davy died. The article states it was 2/12/12.  Every true Monkee fan knows that Davy died on Leap Day, February 29, 2012, so his fans would only have to remember his death once every 4 years.

50th Anniversary of the Last Episode

On March 25th, the world heard the final echoes of music from the Monkees TV Show.  The episode called "Mijacogeo" Aka "The Frodis Caper", which is somehow both a reference to Frodo from Lord of the Rings, and also cannibis.

Ironically, the episode starts with the Beatles' "Good Morning, Good Morning" and ends with Tim Buckley's "Song to The Siren".  Running the gamut from first inspirations to where they were at that moment in 1968, a siren song to all the teenagers in America.

You can get a sense of the feelings of the time, should they do something like "Laugh In"? If there was another season, how would the show evolve?  And if they did a movie, what would that be like?  Those and other historical comments can be found at http://ultimateclassicrock.com/the-monkees-final-episode/. 

The music is still echoing, so they must've done something right.

Relax Your Mind-Peter's New Album

Peter has FINALLY released his amazing new album, Relax Your Mind-Music of Lead Belly.

If you've never been exposed to, or have never really paid attention to the Blues, do yourself a favor and check out PT and Shoe Suede Blues as they interpret these songs.  These songs are a tribute to creating beauty from pain; people who have no hope in their lives literally plucking songs out of thin air.  Making magic for themselves, and creating connection beyond distance, culture, time, across the human spectrum.  Handing someone else their pain, transfigured into the form of music.

Or if you can, seek them out in person (if/when they tour again).  It is transformative.

https://petertork.bandcamp.com/

Wendy Forsythe/Heather North Passed Away

The Wendy Forsythe character, known in real life as Heather North, from "The Prince and the Paupers" episode has passed away.  She had voiced Daphne from Scooby Doo until 2003.

Her character ALMOST marries Davy Jones, but she gets stuck with the shy Prince instead.  Something LIKE Mark Twain's novel, but not really.

RIP Rose Marie, Wait for Your Laugh

Rose Marie, the 9 decade show biz survivor has passed away (and surpassed us all).

Check out a tribute here:
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/12/rose-marie-dies-obituary

And check out info for her LATEST movie, Wait for Your Laugh (kid).
http://www.rosemariemovie.com/

She has connections to the Monkees, playing both "The Big Woman" and "Monkee Mother".

Also, her singing Vitaphone short ran with The Jazz Singer.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6cfcqy

Who knows about the OTHER connection between the Monkees and the Jazz Singer??

Micky Lighting the Tree

I wasn't in New York for this, but I LOVE how he (and the Monkees) have become mainstream again!

http://www.winterseve.nyc/treelighting2017/

What is more New York/American/Corny than having a "legendary rock star" at the tree-lighting?

Nothing, man, nuthin.

NaNoWriMo: Six Degrees, a Literary Journey

A mad dash through the 20th century, the fulcrum of which is a certain series.  Mid 1960's, a collection of everything that had come before, captured on film, 50 years in.

And then, a kid born 10 years after it all started and ended, How it introduced her to everything and everyone, the best kind of introductions, especially when the parents are absent or absent from this culture. 

Everything is a spiderweb, everything is a connection, a neural pathway, dendritic branches of people and stories, lost and irrelevant until activated by their relationships.

Everyone is Six Degrees away.

Monkees as a Good User Experience

The show was designed to be easy on the eyes.  Chock full of visuals and sounds and music and every editing trick yet invented, the pacing is designed to keep the attention of the "young generation".

The show was teaching us to be good consumers, not only of what they were trying to sell us (music and goodies), but also to be good audience members.  What jokes are good to laugh at?  When?  And if you don't get the joke, then you need to figure out what you are missing.

That was the biggest influence on me, it implanted a growing lust of curiosity, for history, for everything around these 4 characters and their beachhouse.  What world were they living in and how much of it was real?  Whether it was real or not didn't matter, it was a tv show and y its very nature, unreal.

It taught me to be aware of the line that tips fiction away from reality, and vice versa.  And to understand when reality is worse than fiction. (Like now)

#17 Case of the Missing Manchurian Candidate

Last night, TCM showed The Manchurian Candidate.

Sometimes, the events of the world need to swirl into focus for a piece of art/writing/movie to resonate with you. Or to become resonant again.  (I'm a big fan of Henry David Thoreau and his Civil Disobedience is cycling back again into public discourse).

The plot of the 1962 movie has to do with soldiers in Korea who get captured and get brainwashed.  One ends up being a killer who performs on command without conscience.  Frank Sinatra is the hero, Angela Lansbury is the evil "queen".  At one point Frank also mentions "All the King's Horses", but alas-does not break into the song.

A throwaway piece of the plot involves the bad guys checking on the power of the hypnotism.  They essentially kidnap him and offer a cover story to the papers, having him the victim of a hit and run.  The "hospital" they keep him in is a cover.  It's a building for rich alcoholics, but 3 floors of it are reserved for their Communist conspiracies.  A FAKE hospital.

This aside is what they base the whole episode on.  Hospitals can be fake, doctors can be fake. Hypnotism is real.  Evil Communist forces may or may not be real, but they can ultimately be foiled.

The more powerful part of the movie itself has to do with the manipulations of the presidential nomination.  Right before JFK was literally caught in the crosshairs.  And decades before the idea that Russia had anything to do with the 2016 election.  Whatever side you are on, watch the movie and see what other items this particular movie may have suggested to the public imagination.